FEATURE: Chiatung grouper farmer keeps eye on the future

By Chung Li-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

With this legacy in mind, Wang said he is concerned about the future of grouper farming

“In the two years since the ECFA took effect, the price of rock grouper has dropped from about NT270 per jin [600g] to about NT110 per jin, while prices of the Hybrid Giant Tiger variety have dropped from between NT$300 and NT$400 to about NT$150 per jin,” Wang said.

Wang said that the Council of Agriculture’s policy of trying to increase production volumes is causing grouper prices to plummet.

Wang said that current prices mean that if farmers do not have a yield rate of 50 percent, they can barely cover their overheads.

Focusing instead on quality rather than quantity, Wang said he plans to package his farm’s groupers with a certificate indicating where the fish were raised and packed, adding that he also intends to open a seafood restaurant to promote his own products.